One of the classic daytrips in Bavaria is to the top of the Zugspitze. At nearly ten thousand feet, Germany's highest peak offers a fantastic panoramic view extending across four nations. At one time only mountain climbers could enjoy this spectacle, but today an ingenious network of cable cars and a rack railway make the ascent fast, easy, and safe.

There are several possible ways up the mountain. The route suggested here is the most common and could be done in reverse if desired. If you don't like cable cars, you can go both ways by rail instead.

Germany shares its peak with Austria, which has its own cable-car system as well as a café and restaurant at the top. This excursion can be combined in the same day with an abbreviated version of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen trip by getting off to a very early start, but only during the summer when the hours of sunlight are longer.

GETTING THERE:

Trains from Munich's main station leave hourly for Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a ride of about 90 minutes. From the Garmisch station walk over to the adjacent Zugspitz Bahnhof and take one of the hourly train operated by the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn. Railpasses are not valid for this rack railway. If you came to Garmisch by train you can get a discount by showing your ticket.

By Car, leave Munich on the A-95 (E-6) Autobahn and drive 88 km (55 miles) south to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, parking there at the Zugspitz Bahnhof. Take the rack railway as above. It is also possible to drive to the Eibsee and pick up the trip from there.

The Daytrips Austria version has travel instructions from Innsbruck instead.

PRACTICALITIES:

The ascent of the Zugspitze may be made all year round, but clear weather is necessary to enjoy the sights. Should the skies cloud over en route you might consider making the Garmisch-Partenkirchen or Oberammergau trip instead. Remember, however, the weather atop the Zugspitze is often clear when the valley is socked in. Ask at the Zugspitz Bahnhof if in doubt. You should bring a sweater or jacket, even in summer. The Tourist Information Office in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, T: (08821) 180-700, W: garmisch-partenkirchen.de, is at Richard-Strauss Platz in the center of Garmisch. For more specific information and conditions at the summit, contact the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn, T: (08821) 79-70, W: zugspitze.de.

Gipfelalm (at the summit of the Zugspitze) A central hut vaults over smaller huts, offering privacy with a terrific view — along with Bavarian dishes. €€

In addition, there is a restaurant on the Austrian side of the peak, several places around the Eibsee and, of course, excellent choices in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

SUGGESTED TOUR:

Numbers in parentheses correspond to numbers on the map.

Leave the Garmisch-Partenkirchen train station (1) and walk over to the Zugspitz Bahnhof (2), a separate station for the rack railway going up the mountain. Purchase a roundtrip ticket (Rundreise), which includes the rack railway, summit cable car, and the Eibsee cable car. If you came to Garmisch by train you can get a discount by showing your ticket. T: (08821) 79-70, W: zugspitze.de. Departures are hourly from 8:25-2:15, with some variations. The last return leaves at 4:30. Roundtrip €€€€€, reductions for children, youths, and families.

The train first travels along a relatively level route, then begins the climb to the Eibsee (3), a lovely lake near the foot of the mountain, reached in about 40 minutes. Those with cars can drive this far and board the train here. This is also the lower station of the Eibsee cable car, going all the way to the very top, on which you will probably be returning.

Shortly after this the train plunges into a long tunnel, winding its way like a corkscrew through the inside of the Zugspitze, and reaches the Zugspitzplatt (4) about 75 minutes after leaving Garmisch-Partenkirchen. At 2,846 meters (9,340 feet) above sea level, this is Germany's highest skiing area, where the fun starts in November and lasts through May. Walk out on the terrace for a *view from the heights, perhaps stopping at the rustic Sonn Alpin restaurant for a meal, snack, or drink.

This is still not the top of the Zugspitze. To get there, take the Gletscherbahn glacier cable car, which runs at least every half-hour and takes only four minutes to reach the peak.

Finally at the *Zugspitzgipfel (the very top) (5), stroll out onto the sunny terrace and survey the world nearly 2,962 meters (9,724 feet) below. It is possible to cross the border (6) to Austrian soil — or snow. Food, snacks, and drinks are available on both sides. Don't miss the free exhibition on the history of the Zugspitze and its various ascents, including the building of the rack railway in 1930. Until 2006 it was believed that the mountain was first conquered by one Josef Naus, but the German mountaineering Association recently found a map from 1770 showing that locals had climbed it long before that.

The return journey begins on the German side of the peak. From here take the large Eibsee cable car(Seilbahn) for the thrilling ten-minute descent directly to the Eibsee (3). Alternatively, you could return by way of the glacier cable car to the Zugspitzplatt (4) and then ride the train back, although this way is much slower.

From the Eibsee continue on by rack railway back to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where you board the regular train to Munich. These operate until mid-evening.

Visiting Bavaria? Check out my new (2014) app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch: Bavaria Travel: Munich & Great Day Trips. It's full of current, up-to-date information, special maps, day trips, walking tours, offbeat destinations, and much, much more.

A slightly different version of this trip is featured in my new (2009) guidebook, Daytrips Germany, which covers the entire country. Check it out by clicking below. You might also check out Daytrips Austria:

July 26, 2007

My Daytrips Germany book, which went through six editions since 1983, was putting on weight from all that bratwurst und bier — so I decided to divide it into three regional books. The first two of these are now out and available.

These new books are smaller and easier to carry, have more practical information than the previous one, and have all-new, clear, digitally-created local street maps for each and every one of the 23 daytrips — so you can hardly get lost. Also featured are restaurant suggestions, complete travel information, local history and attractions. All of the daytrips can comfortably be made from Munich or other nearby bases, by either rail or car.

Some of the complete trip chapters are featured right here on this blog, so you can sample them before deciding to buy. CLICK HERE for the Daytrips Chapters Index, which will lead you to them.

Visiting Bavaria? Check out my new (2014) app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, Bavaria Travel: Munich & Great Day Trips. It's full of current, up-to-date information, special maps, day trips, walking tours, offbeat destinations, and much, much more.

July 06, 2007

Any book publisher that's been around as long as Hastings House (over 70 years, and my publisher since 1982) is bound to still have rights to books they published decades ago. There remains a modest market for many of these, but until recently ordering a new print run was far too expensive for the few hundred copies that would get sold. To say nothing of the cost of maintaining inventory — warehousing, insurance, taxes and so on — on slow selling titles.

This is no longer the case.

Print-on-Demand (POD) technology has come a long way in the past few years, especially since Amazon.com has become deeply involved in the process.

Lately I have been assisting Hastings House in reissusing a "Classics" series, at least to the extent of preparing new covers and promotional copy. As far as the inside pages go, they just send one or two copies of the book to the POD printer, who then scans the pages into a pdf file and prints from that whenever orders are received — even if the order is for just one copy.

The covers are a bit trickier. What I do is to scan the original cover at a sufficiently high resolution, then drop it into a new file that includes both front, spine, and a new rear cover, as seen in the examples to the right and below. I also add the heading "Hastings House Classics," put a little shadow there to make it prettier, and insert a bar code.

A small problem can occur when the original cover includes a photo. Often, this results in an unwanted moiré pattern caused by interference between the original half-tone screen and the pixel pattern of the scanner. This can usually be eliminated in Photoshop, but it's a lot of work.

The first two titles that I worked on, both in a way related to my Daytrips series of guidebooks, were a classic guide to Germany's Rhineland, and a classic guide to German wines, both shown to the right and below.